Questions tagged [underwater]
For questions about underwater environments, an often noteworthy or special-case environment in RPGs that frequently involve special rules or modifications to rules.
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Can the Broom of Flying move underwater?
More specifically: can I order the Broom of Flying to dive into the sea so a sinking PC (several meters underwater) can grab it, then order it to fly out and back to me, saving the PC? I figured, ...
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Tsunami spell cast in the air
Let's suppose a spellcaster casts the Tsunami spell 100 feet above the ground. The spell description says that it originates at a point in range (sight) and does not say that it needs to be supported....
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What happens when you cast the Fireball spell underwater?
What happens when you cast the fireball spell underwater? And does the water remain?
Assume a perfectly spherical pool with a 20 foot radius and hole at the top for you to cast the fireball into the ...
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Easiest item/spell/other for making a Tendriculos aquatic?
Building an a character that uses the Arms & Equipment Guide rules for having a Tendriculos as a mount (basically, raise it from a seed and use alchemy to turn off its digestive acid, then ride in ...
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Do weapons that do both Piercing and another damage type suffer underwater combat penalties?
Some weapons, like Morningstars and Sugliin, do two types of damage at once (Piercing/Bludgeoning and Piercing/Slashing, respectively). How does this interact with underwater combat penalties? ...
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Will this series of events work to drown the Tarrasque?
Here's the challenge: I, a level 17 Bard taught by the College of Compulsion (a homebrew subclass), am hired by some random bumpkins to go and get rid of the Tarrasque all by my lonesome, for 5 silver ...
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How does Scorn Earth function underwater?
Scorn Earth (Su)
At 1st level, an elocater’s feet lift from the ground. From now on, she can float a foot above the ground. Instead of walking she glides along, unconcerned with the hard earth or ...
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How does the Necklace of Adaption's bubble of air work out in practice underwater?
A recent question about the necklace of adaptation reminded me of an old question of my own that I've never been able to answer: Can a character wearing a necklace of adaption swim?
It might seem a ...
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Could a famous object on the floor of the ocean have gone undiscovered for centuries?
In my setting, five meteors fell on the planet. Each meteor contained a very powerful magical gem.
Four of those fell on land, and the gems were retrieved rather quickly. The last one fell in an ...
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Can spells with a verbal component be cast underwater if the caster can't breathe water?
My party recently tipped over a boat of enemies into what was essentially rapids and trapped the enemies in a cube of force underwater. The warriors inevitably drowned as they had no way out. However, ...
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How do aquatic races write underwater?
There are lots of situations where underwater races will want to send messages to each other, write in spell books, create maps, etc.
Are there any examples out there in D&D lore (any edition, any ...
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Does being under water affect Invisibility?
This came up with our game last night, with the players suggesting it would be easier to see a creature invisible under water, and I suggested that an aquatic caster might, know a version of the spell ...
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Can a paralyzed creature hold its breath?
Can a paralyzed creature hold its breath, or continue holding its breath if it is paralyzed while holding its breath.
For example, a Chuul grapples and drags an overbold adventurer under water, the ...
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How does the Whirlpool application of the Control Water spell work?
As written, the Whirlpool option of the control water spell says:
Whirlpool. This effect requires a body of water at least 50 feet square and 25 feet deep. You cause a whirlpool to form in the center ...
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Options for breathing underwater
I'm taking the plunge (pun intended) and having a go at writing my own aquatic based adventure. I intend to use settings of a port, a ship, underwater and a hidden (air and water) cavern.
I've ...
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What happens to lightning spells underwater?
As the old adage goes, "water and electricity don't mix" because in real life water contains impurities that make it super conductible. So what would happen if, for instance, a sorceress ...
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Does Thunderclap deal more damage in shallow water or underwater? [closed]
I encounter my character in a big room with statues and shallow water between 3 and 6ft tall
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Is it easy to drown in Call of Cthulhu 7e?
Based on the rules I have read on Call of Cthulhu it seems like drowning in this game is very easy. The skill used to avoid drowning rarely has points put into it. How can I make water less lethal ...
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Can a petrified character drown?
At the end of our last gaming session my character was fighting a Gorgon in a pool of chest height water.
I had the terrible misfortune of being knocked down and then petrified (turned to stone)
Can I ...
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What are the conditions of an underwater environment?
Parallel to What are the conditions of a Zero-G environment?, Underwater environments are mentioned under Environmental Adaptation, but are otherwise undefined. Was this defined in an official book?
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Are there any special rules governing invisibility underwater?
Are there any special rules for invisibility when underwater?
For example, Pathfinder (a different game) has a rule that makes it easier to detect invisible creatures underwater due to the way they ...
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Would a graviturgy wizard's adjust density feature trivialize kraken fights and water encounters?
It wouldn't work on a CR 23 Kraken (MM 193) per se due to the size restriction, but maybe something like a Juvenile Kraken (GoS 239) from Ghosts of Saltmarsh would be susceptible to it.
The wording:
...
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Best way to allow a warrior to use their slashing weapons underwater
Our party needs to go underwater. Our party also includes a warrior who is heavily specialized into a pair of +1 keen gold great scimitars, which deal slashing damage and thus take substantial ...
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Can all Pokémon swim?
According to the core rules:
Underwater Terrain is any water that a Pokémon or Trainer can be submerged in. You may not move through Underwater Terrain during battle if you do not have a Swim ...
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Can I get a long rest in Leomund's Tiny Hut if I'm underwater and water breathing?
I'm a druid/wizard and our party is trying to do some underwater spelunking. I cast the Water Breathing ritual, so we can all breathe underwater for 24 hours. After a few hours of adventuring we've ...
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How do the Soulknife's psychic blades function in underwater combat?
Psychic Blades
The Soulknife from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything gains the Psychic Blades feature at level 3. These are described as "shimmering blades of psychic energy . . . that you can ...
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When casting the Control Water spell underwater, does the Part Water option create a cube of air?
The control water spell has the option to separate water and form a trench on a cubic area of up to 100 feet per side:
Until the spell ends, you control any freestanding water inside an area you ...
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How large is the whirlpool when a Nereid uses their Shape Water (Control Water) feature?
The nereid from The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan has a special feature called "Shape Water" (not to be confused with the shape water cantrip), which does the following:
Shape Water. The ...
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How does fighting underwater increase the encounter difficulty of combat?
I am in the process of designing an encounter in which a party of 8 level 3 players will fight a group of Chuul.
The CR calculation shows that 3 Chuul will cause a hard encounter, but I intend that ...
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How does combat work underwater?
I've been a 5e player for the last 6 months or so and soon I'll be DMing for the first time, as short filler when our main campaign can't go ahead (for example, our paladin is on holidays).
My ...
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How does underwater combat work with Soul Knives?
How does underwater combat work with Soul Knives'/Bolts'?
Do they get the same penalties as regular weapons under water? Does a Soulbolt's Mind Bolt still have -2 per 5 feet ranged weapon penalties ...
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What is every possible way a PC can breathe underwater?
Currently my group is planning an underwater strike on an underwater city. We are wondering what are all the possible ways we could get to breathe underwater.
So far we have found:
Cap of ...
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Is this encounter in Ghosts of Saltmarsh ridiculously deadly?
In the Ghosts of Saltmarsh appendix A, "Of ships and the sea" one of the pre-created underwater locations (the wreck of the marshal) has the following feature:
I'm hoping to run one of the ...
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Are there rules for falling in water vs. diving vs. just jumping in for various depths of water?
Just realized that in DMing 5e I have unconsciously used a falling-in-water rule-of-thumb that I inherited from somewhere (maybe 2e or AD&D or maybe even Pathfinder). The ruling I've been using is ...
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Does a bronze dragon's wing attack work underwater?
An adult bronze dragon has a lair deep inside of a coastal mountain. To get to where she hides her stuff (and where she is keeping a clutch of eggs warm) an adventuring party needs to swim deep ...
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Is your movement penalized underwater if you have a swimming speed but choose not to use it?
Here are the rules on underwater movement:
While climbing or swimming, each foot of movement
costs 1 extra foot (2 extra feet in difficult terrain), unless
a creature has a climbing or swimming ...
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Storm Kings Thunder Maelstrom Mechanics
Currently running Storm King's Thunder, and my players just got the conch of teleportation. During the next session they will be using it. The module says that you take pressure damage for being at ...
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What happens if a part of the ocean is zapped by the Witch Bolt spell?
From what I read, the witch bolt spell (PHB, p. 289) will only hit the target. But will it hit anything else - for example, a creature swimming within 10-15 feet of the strike location?
The reason for ...
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Do crossbows and other noted exceptions miss past their long range underwater?
The rules is written as
A ranged weapon attack automatically misses a target beyond the
weapon’s normal range. Even against a target within normal range, the
attack roll has disadvantage unless the ...
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How does underwater rules work with flying familiars?
I will soon run the Underworld Speculation adventure with my group of players. Two of their characters have flying familiars (an owl and a pseudodragon).
Is there something in the rules that states ...
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Does drowning count as a condition?
So I know we are going to some kind of underwater place next session. I was wondering if the bard could use Lesser Restoration to "fix" the drowning "condition". That is, if it counts as one.
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Can you use a Martial Discipline Stance from Path of War during underwater combat?
Can you use a Martial Discipline Stance from Path of War during underwater combat?
Specifically Thrashing Dragon Stance: Outer Sphere Stance - When wielding two weapons, disciple inflicts an ...
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Is there anything that can create a fire that burns underwater?
Is there any fire-related item or spell in D&D 5e that can create a fire that can burn underwater?
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Do the Gloves of Swimming and Climbing grant you a swimming speed?
The rules on Underwater Combat (PHB pg. 198) state:
When making a melee weapon attack, a creature that doesn't have a
swimming speed (either natural or granted by magic) has disadvantage
on the ...
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If the Sleep spell is cast on an opponent in water, do they immediately start suffocating?
From the description of the Sleep spell:
falls unconscious until the spell ends, the sleeper takes damage, or someone uses an action to shake or slap the sleeper awake.
From the rules on suffocating:...
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How does the Battle Dancer Rolling Flurry work underwater?
The Brawler archetype Battle Dancer has the Rolling Flurry feature which states :
When a battle dancer uses her brawler’s flurry, she must move 5 feet before each melee attack or combat maneuver. ...
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Help with 3D combat
I recently asked this question, in which one of the comments mentioned there might be problems with 3D combat.
My campaign will be nearly entirely underwater, in the deep sea where 3 dimensional ...
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Underwater Druidic Spellcasting
I've recently started building an underwater campaign, where most of the action will take place underwater. One of my players has brought to my attention the druidic spell list. They start at level 10,...
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Can you drink a potion one-handed underwater?
I have a player who wants their PC to drink a potion underwater while one-handed, and as a DM I'm not sure how to rule it.
Ask for a Dex check? What DC? Is it even possible? I couldn't find anything ...
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Can you use the Fly spell to move underwater at a speed of 60 feet?
If under the effects of a Fly spell, can you move at a speed of 60 feet underwater?
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